


Blue Velvet

by papayaknight



Category: Tortall - Tamora Pierce
Genre: BFFs, F/M, Romance, Sad, also they like each other but shhhh, but then it's not sad!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-10
Updated: 2017-10-10
Packaged: 2019-01-15 16:43:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12324894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/papayaknight/pseuds/papayaknight
Summary: Numair struggles with how he feels about Daine=emotions and heart to heart conversations and crying at dances.





	Blue Velvet

**Author's Note:**

> This work was inspired by Bobby Vinton's beautiful song Blue Velvet, go check it out! I might possibly add more chapters to this later.

To this day Numair didn’t know how he had remained standing when Daine walked into the room that night. It was Thayet’s birthday so she and Jon were holding the biggest ball of the year. Normally Numair did everything he could to avoid courtly functions, but he begrudgingly dressed up and went along with this one. He wished he could say he did it entirely out of the goodness of his heart and love for his friends—but in reality he had overheard Daine rambling to Cloud about going with Thayet to purchase a new dress especially for tonight’s ball, and he’d be lying to himself if he said he didn’t want to see it. Most of the time she was wearing simple clothes covered in cat hair or bird poop, and although of course she was still beautiful he cherished the opportunity to see her made up tonight.

She had also mentioned Numair’s name in that conversation, but he had quickly left before he could hear anymore. He didn’t need to hear how stuffy and old she probably thought he was.

Numair had been at the ball for 20 minutes now, and though the dancing and socializing were in full swing he hadn’t seen Daine yet. Not that he cared if she was late or anything, he just wanted to make sure she hadn’t been kidnapped or slipped and been knocked unconcious. He was only being so protective because she was his student and he cared about her. He bunched his hands in the robes he wore, then took a deep breath and forced himself to relax. 

It was fine.

He was fine.

Daine was probably fine. But what if she wasn’t?!

He was stress-eating his 6th pastry when he heard the familiar sound of someone entering the room—a wave of greetings and pleasantries exchanged. He instinctively swung his head towards the door, as he had been doing all night, and that’s when he saw her. Her hair was held back by a simple silver pin with a few pearls decorating it that seemed to shine unnaturally bright, which he recognized as his birthday present for her that year. She wore a dress of blue velvet that hung low around her shoulders and was adorned by a pearl necklace. She looked like an angel as she floated across the room, smiling kindly at all who greeted her. Numair’s knees felt weak as he watched her sweep past him and head straight into a dance with one of the young squires. The glimmering scene swam before his eyes and it was only when he tasted the salt on his lips that he realized he was crying. Horrified, he ducked behind a pillar, casting an invisibility spell and leaving a fake copy of himself behind to ward off any overly friendly socialites as he fled the room.

He mindlessly stumbled through the castle, the tears filling his eyes distorting the torch light until he felt he wasn’t even moving but drowning in golden light and faint laughter and his own emotions. Finally, he burst out of the castle into a courtyard and ran across the damp grass until he reached his hiding spot. He had found this place years ago, a stone bench shadowed by an overhanging tree, and had used his magic to make the tree and surrounding bushes grow until they completely obscured the place, creating a small hidden alcove. He sat on the ground, digging his hand into the soft moss and taking great gulping breaths of refreshingly cool air.

How he hated the court. When he was in the stuffy rooms, he felt as if he couldn’t really breathe, surrounded on all sides by the overwhelming smells of overly rich food and over-dressed people. It was funny, he reflected, how he used to love it all. Once upon a time he saw it all as one big game, manipulating the people around him and seducing as many women as possible. For some reason it just didn’t interest him anymore. He closed his eyes and laid his head against the hard stone bench, letting the cold seep into his skin and cool his cheeks. How stupid he was. Of course Daine wasn’t coming to the ball for him! She was young and wanted to do as he had, socializing and... seducing.

Numair wrapped his arms around his knees and hunched into a small ball, feeling utterly down on himself. He was so entangled in his own thoughts he didn’t even hear the person outside his hidden alcove whisper the code word that made the branches part, or hear them quietly walk over and sit down on the bench beside where he was hunched on the ground. But he did feel the hand running over his head, gentle fingers pulling through the tangles in his hair he created as he had anxiously ran his own hand through it earlier. His eyes shot open immediately, but before he could move the voice he heard froze him again—but unlike the cold emptiness of the stone he now felt frozen with fire as if he had to move and run but never would be able to.

“Numair,” Daine softly said, almost whispering, “It’s okay. It’s just me.” There was silence for a few seconds and Numair kept his eyes trained straight up and in front of him at the sapphire sky above; when he didn’t respond, Daine kept talking. “I saw you when I walked in. One of the cats accidentally ripped some of the stitches out of my dress and it had to be fixed last minute so I was a bit late tonight. You probably didn’t notice.”

He had. He always did.

“I wanted to come say hello but Thorin swept in with a dance request. You know how he won’t take no for an answer.” The thought of Daine having to dance with someone she didn’t want to sparked a new emotion in Numair, something other than the underlying and never-ending grief that seemed to be his norm lately. He was mad at Thorin. If Daine would let him he would go teach that ignorant boy a lesson about how to treat women, but last time he did that the boy had left the castle altogether and Daine and Jon had gotten mad at him.

Daine was still talking. “Anyway, so after all that I went to find you but it was only your simulacrum. And I know you were looking forward to coming to tonight’s ball so something must’ve happened for you to leave like that. And you always come here when you’re upset so... here I am.” Numair looked down at the ground, watching the bottom of Daine’s blue velvet dress like she had stolen a piece of the night sky and placed the starlight in her eyes. It was dragging in the dirt on the pieces of moss he had ripped up earlier and Numair thought bitterly how he always dragged Daine down with him, staining her life like the dirt that stained her dress now. She should be at the ball right now, dancing and laughing and having a great time. Instead she was with him, consoling him like the child he was, stroking his hair and... crying? Her voice was filled with sadness but she continued to speak purposefully and clearly through the tears that filled her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Numair. You used to love going to balls and being at court. Don’t say you didn’t because I know you did, I watched you dance and laugh and flirt with all the girls. But now I’ve dragged you down. I’ve hurt your reputation and you’ve had to babysit me for so long when you should’ve been off enjoying your life.” Numair turned his head to stare at her in the soft light as she finished, “I’ve been thinking. I might join the Queen’s Riders when they leave in a few weeks. Then I’ll be out of your hair, at least for a while.” She abruptly stood, tucking her hair behind her hair, and moved to leave, but Numair got up and interrupted her. He grabbed her hands in his without really realizing what he was doing.

“No.” The word escaped from his lips as unbidden as his actions, sending a crack through the dam he had been building inside of him since the day they met. “Don’t go.” He stared into her eyes, suddenly lost for words. It seemed like they stood there for ages, until the sound of music and laughter interrupted them. From across the courtyard they knew the time had grown late enough some courtiers had split from the main room to cool down and relax in the courtyard. Slow soft tunes filled the air and Daine held her hand out to Numair.

“Well,” she said, a challenge in her eyes. “If I must stay, then may I have this dance, Sir Salmalin?”

“I hardly think I’m a sir,” he responded with a smile, “but yes.” His hand on her waist, her arm wrapped around his neck she rested her head on his shoulder and he felt her curls tickle his nose as they swayed slowly to the music.

They stayed that way for a while longer, staring at the stars above or shadowed leaves or anything but each other’s eyes. By the time the song ended they had shifted until they weren’t really dancing anymore but in one long embrace. “I’m sorry I’ve been so distant,” Numair said. “I wanted to give you enough space to be a young woman and not be saddled by an old man.”

“I don’t think you’re old Numair,” Daine earnestly responded. “And I was trying to give you enough space to be a man, unsaddled by a childish girl. It seems we both assumed too much about the other. The truth is I need you in my life. It feels like you’re the only one who really understands me.” By this point he had thought Daine’s tendency for bluntly saying what she was thinking or feeling wouldn’t surprise him anymore, but Numair nearly fell over again as she spoke. For months, even years, he had thought he was the only one of them who felt this way and suddenly he was learning she had felt the same the entire time? It was a startling observation to say the least, and he laughed out loud at the absurdity.

Daine pulled out of the embrace, looking at him questioningly, and suddenly Numair couldn’t stop grinning. He knew this was a serious situation and he should probably be sad they had wasted so much time they could’ve been supporting each other but none of that seemed to matter any more. He sat down on the bench and patted next to him for Daine to join him.

“This,” he explained, waving his hand vaguely at the world around him, “is just all so crazy. I have a life out there, filled with recognition and important people and magic and,” his voice softened as he took her hand in his and contemplated the freckles and lines he had come to know so well over the years. “And all I want to do is stay right here in this moment and never leave. I couldn’t care less about the rest of the world.” She didn’t respond, only smiled, squeezed his hand softly, and laid her head on his shoulder. And he knew exactly what she meant.

The rest of the night passed like an eternity that went by in a blur. They talked about everything in their life like they hadn’t for months. The words flowed easily and by the time they snuck back to their rooms to go to sleep they were as close friends as they’d ever been. It would be a while longer before they both realized and admitted their feelings for each other but for now they were best friends once more, and that was enough.


End file.
